# Configuration - How to configure clan with your own machines Managing machine configurations can be done in the following ways: - writing `nix` expressions in a `flake.nix` file, - placing `autoincluded` files into your machine directory, - configuring everything in a simple UI (upcoming). Clan currently offers the following methods to configure machines: !!! Success "Recommended for nix people" - flake.nix (i.e. via `buildClan`) - `machine` argument - `inventory` argument - machines/`machine_name`/configuration.nix (`autoincluded` if it exists) ???+ Note "Used by CLI & UI" - inventory.json - machines/`machine_name`/hardware-configuration.nix (`autoincluded` if it exists) !!! Warning "Deprecated" machines/`machine_name`/settings.json ## Global configuration In the `flake.nix` file: - [x] set a unique `name`. === "**normal flake template**" ```nix title="flake.nix" hl_lines="3" buildClan { # Set a unique name meta.name = "Lobsters"; # Should usually point to the directory of flake.nix directory = ./.; machines = { jon = { # ... }; # ... } } ``` === "**template using flake-parts**" !!! info "See [Clan with flake-parts](./flake-parts.md) for help migrating to flake-parts." ```nix title="flake.nix" hl_lines="3" clan = { # Set a unique name meta.name = "Lobsters"; machines = { jon = { # ... }; # ... } }; ``` ## Machine configuration Adding or configuring a new machine requires two simple steps: ### Step 1. Identify Target Disk-ID 1. Find the remote disk id by executing: ```bash title="setup computer" ssh root@ lsblk --output NAME,ID-LINK,FSTYPE,SIZE,MOUNTPOINT ``` !!! Note Replace `` with the IP address of the machine if you don't have the avahi service running which resolves mDNS local domains. Which should show something like: ```{.shellSession hl_lines="6" .no-copy} NAME ID-LINK FSTYPE SIZE MOUNTPOINT sda usb-ST_16GB_AA6271026J1000000509-0:0 14.9G ├─sda1 usb-ST_16GB_AA6271026J1000000509-0:0-part1 1M ├─sda2 usb-ST_16GB_AA6271026J1000000509-0:0-part2 vfat 100M /boot └─sda3 usb-ST_16GB_AA6271026J1000000509-0:0-part3 ext4 2.9G / nvme0n1 nvme-eui.e8238fa6bf530001001b448b4aec2929 476.9G ├─nvme0n1p1 nvme-eui.e8238fa6bf530001001b448b4aec2929-part1 vfat 512M ├─nvme0n1p2 nvme-eui.e8238fa6bf530001001b448b4aec2929-part2 ext4 459.6G └─nvme0n1p3 nvme-eui.e8238fa6bf530001001b448b4aec2929-part3 swap 16.8G ``` 1. Edit the following fields inside the `./machines/jon/configuration.nix` and/or `./machines/sara/configuration.nix` ```nix title="./machines//configuration.nix" hl_lines="13 18 23 27" { imports = [ ./hardware-configuration.nix # contains your disk format and partitioning configuration. ../../modules/disko.nix # this file is shared among all machines ../../modules/shared.nix # enables GNOME desktop (optional) ../../modules/gnome.nix ]; # Put your username here for login users.users.user.username = "__YOUR_USERNAME__"; # Set this for clan commands use ssh i.e. `clan machines update` # If you change the hostname, you need to update this line to root@ # This only works however if you have avahi running on your admin machine else use IP clan.core.networking.targetHost = "root@__IP__"; # You can get your disk id by running the following command on the installer: # Replace with the IP of the installer printed on the screen or by running the `ip addr` command. # ssh root@ lsblk --output NAME,ID-LINK,FSTYPE,SIZE,MOUNTPOINT disko.devices.disk.main.device = "/dev/disk/by-id/__CHANGE_ME__"; # IMPORTANT! Add your SSH key here # e.g. > cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub users.users.root.openssh.authorizedKeys.keys = "__YOUR_SSH_KEY__"; # ... } ``` !!! Info "Replace `__YOUR_USERNAME__` with the ip of your machine, if you use avahi you can also use your hostname" !!! Info "Replace `__IP__` with the ip of your machine, if you use avahi you can also use your hostname" !!! Info "Replace `__CHANGE_ME__` with the appropriate identifier, such as `nvme-eui.e8238fa6bf530001001b448b4aec2929`" !!! Info "Replace `__YOUR_SSH_KEY__` with your personal key, like `ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAILoMI0NC5eT9pHlQExrvR5ASV3iW9+BXwhfchq0smXUJ jon@jon-desktop`" These steps will allow you to update your machine later. ### Step 2: Detect Drivers Generate the `hardware-configuration.nix` file for your machine by executing the following command: ```bash clan machines hw-generate [MACHINE_NAME] ``` replace `[MACHINE_NAME]` with the name of the machine i.e. `jon` and `[HOSTNAME]` with the `ip_adress` or `hostname` of the machine within the network. i.e. `` !!! Example ```bash clan machines hw-generate jon ``` This command connects to the ip configured in the previous step, runs `nixos-generate-config` to detect hardware configurations (excluding filesystems), and writes them to `machines/jon/hardware-configuration.nix`. ### Step 3: Custom Disk Formatting In `./modules/disko.nix`, a simple `ext4` disk partitioning scheme is defined for the Disko module. For more complex disk partitioning setups, refer to the [Disko templates](https://github.com/nix-community/disko-templates) or [Disko examples](https://github.com/nix-community/disko/tree/master/example). ### Step 4: Custom Configuration Modify `./machines/jon/configuration.nix` to personalize the system settings according to your requirements. If you wish to name your machine to something else, do the following steps: ``` mv ./machines/jon/configuration.nix ./machines/newname/configuration.nix ``` Than rename `jon` to your preferred name in `machines` in `flake.nix` as well as the import line: ```diff - imports = [ ./machines/jon/configuration.nix ]; + imports = [ ./machines/__NEW_NAME__/configuration.nix ]; ``` !!! Info "Replace `__NEW_NAME__` with the name of the machine" Note that our clan lives inside a git repository. Only files that have been added with `git add` are recognized by `nix`. So for every file that you add or rename you also need to run: ``` git add ./path/to/my/file ``` For renaming jon to your own machine name, you can use the following command: ``` git mv ./machines/jon ./machines/newname ``` If you only want to setup a single machine at this point, you can delete `sara` from flake.nix as well as from the machines directory: ``` git rm ./machines/sara ``` ### Step 5: Check Configuration Validate your configuration by running: ```bash nix flake check ``` This command helps ensure that your system configuration is correct and free from errors. !!! Tip You can integrate this step into your [Continuous Integration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_integration) workflow to ensure that only valid Nix configurations are merged into your codebase. --- ## Whats next? - [Secrets & Facts](secrets.md): Setting up secrets with nix-sops ---